Slip sheet feeder



Jan. 9,1940. R H M I 2,186,485

SLIP SHEET FEEDER Filed May 23, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jan. 9,R. S. HARM SLIP SHEET FEEDER Filed May 23; 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented 9, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,186,485 SLIP SHEET. FEEDER Richard S.Harm, Dormant, Pa., assignor of one-half to Guy W. Battles, Springdale,Pa.

Application May 23,- 193s, Serial 'No. 209,455

6 Claims.

This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanisms for printing orduplicating machines, and more particularly to an improved mechanism forfeeding slip sheets between the printed sheets as they are deliveredfrom the press or duplicator to prevent smearing of the ink on thepreceding printed sheet and to protect the backs of succeedingprintedsheets. 1

One object of this inventionis to provide an improved slip sheet feederfor duplicating or printing machines which will deliver slip sheetsbetween the printed sheets and is so synchronized with the duplicatingor printing machinethat the slip sheet is delivered in position toreceive m; and support the printed sheet delivered from the pressorduplicator.

Another object is to provide a slip sheet feeder for duplicating orprinting machines which has a materially greater capacity thanthevfeeders 2.0 now in general use on such machines and which isfextremelysimple to manufacture, positive in operation and relatively economicalin cost.

A further object is to provide a slip sheet feeder in which the slipsheets are successively delivered 5 to areceiving station in position toreceive a iprinted sheet and in which the slip sheet; and the printedsheet carried thereby are discharged and travel in a substantiallyvertical path onto a collecting platform where the printed sheets andthe slip sheets are stacked.

A still further object is to provide a slip sheet feeder in which astack of slip sheets is located beneath the press or duplicator and themechanism supporting the stack is capable of being ele- 35 vated so thateach succeeding slip sheet in the stack is brought into position to beacted upon by feeding means which convey the sheets, one at a time, to astation where the printed sheet is deposited thereon and in which theslip sheet with 40 the'printed sheet thereon is discharged from thereceiving station .and stacked on a collecting table in such a way thatsmearing of the ink on the preceding printed sheet is eliminated.

These and other objectswhich will hereinafter 45 be made apparent tothose skilled in this particular art are accomplished by means of thisin-, vention, one embodiment of which is described in the followingspecification and illustrated in the 50 accompanying drawings, wherein:

' Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a feeding mechanism made inaccordance with my invention;

- Fig.2 is a top plan view of the feeder shown in s F18- Fig. 3 is asection taken on line III-,III of Fig.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the clutch arrangement in the drivefor the feed tableand receiving table;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the sprocket wheel forming apart of the clutch mechanism;

, Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VIVI of Fig. 5; I Fig. 7 isan enlarged view of the pinion forming a part of the clutch andillustratingthe means forholding the pinion against movement when theclutch is to be disengaged;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view in elevation showing the means foractuating the clutch;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view illustrating the sheet receiving means andthe collecting table; and Fig. 10 is a viewin elevation of a'deviceadapted to be secured to the receiving table to permit printed sheets ofseveral odd or small lots to be stacked thereon Referring to thedrawings, a slip sheet feeding mechanism, made in accordance with myinven.-.

tion, is illustrated, which is carried by a frame ID that may also beused to support a press or a duplicator (none shown). The frame It]consists of vertically extending openwork side walls Illa which arespaced apart 'and connected together at the top and bottom by endmembers I012.

Mounted for vertical movement within the frame ill at the rear endthereof, is a feed table l2 on whichthe slip sheets, indicated at I3,are stacked for feeding between the printed sheets and in order that themachine will handle a rela- 5 tively large number of slip sheets, Iprefer to have the side walls lllaof the frame of a height sufficient topermit the table I; to be moved through a vertical distanceapproximately equal to the thickness of at least one thousand slipsheets, 40 whereby such number of slip sheets may be stacked on thetable at one time. The feed table [2 is suspended from sprocket chainsi4, one attached to each side thereof, which pass upwardly oversprockets l5 mounted on stub shafts I5a secured to the top of the frameand downwardly around sprockets [6 on the ends of stub shafts l6a. whichare mounted in the side walls Illa of the frame and then upwardly andpass over sprockets I! mounted on stub shafts Ila. secured 5Q to the topof the frame 10 and have their ends attachedto the opposite sides of areceiving table l8. The sprockets [5, I6 and I! are so arranged that asthe feedtable I2 is raised the table I8 is, lowered throughsubstantially the same distance.

The front edges of the slip sheets on the table l2 bear against avertically extending plate l9 and are urged against such plate by meansof a back bar which is removably attached to the frame l0 and isprovided at its upper end with a pivoted section 2| which is continuallyurged toward the plate it by a spring 22. The plate l9 and bar 2!; alsohold the table l2 against endwise movement and side swinging of thetable is prevented by vertically extending guides lflc, two on each sideof the table, which are attached top and bottom to the side walls ifia.The guides I00 also hold the stack of slip sheets l3 in position on thetable and not only prevent the stack from falling over but also hold thesheets in proper position to be acted upon by the feeding means, as willmore fully appear.

Table l8 is also held against swinging movement by means of transverseguides |8a which are secured to the bottom of the table l8 and engageand slide along vertically extending channel members Hid forming a partof the frame If). The sheets on the table ii! are also held in compactposition by a clip 23 which is slidably seciu'ed to the plate l9 andengages the top slip sheet of the stack I3. Clip 23 is continually urgedinto engagement with the top sheet of the stack by spring 24, one end ofwhich is connected to the clip 23 and theother end of which is securedto a chain 25 fastened to the frame it.

Slip sheets are fed successively from the stack it by suitable feedingmeans, hereinafter described, and as each sheet is fed from the stackthe table I2 is raised a distance approximately equal to the thicknessofone slip sheet to deliver the next succeeding sheet in the stack intoposition to be engaged by the feeding means and the table It] issimultaneously lowered a like distance. To elevate the table l2 andlower the table l8, a gear 26 is secured to the sprocket meshes with apinion 2T slidably mounted on a shaft 280, which is journaled in theside walls Illa of the frame and has a sprocket 28 secured thereto whichis connected by a sprocket chain 29 to a sprocket 30 carried by a drivenpulley 3|. Pulley 3| is connected by belt 32 with a pulley 33 mount edon a shaft 34 which is driven from any suitable source, such as asuitable motor (not shown) or the shaft 34 may be connected or geared tothe drive of the printing or duplicating machine which is adapted to becarried by the frame l0.

When the machine is in operation, slip sheets are successively releasedand fed from the stack I3 by a feeder comprising a bar 4| which ispivotally mounted on a crank 42 of a crank shaft 43 and has a releaser44 pivotally connected to the rear end thereof and a pusher 45connnected to the front end thereof. Bar 4! is eccentrically mounted onthe crank 42 and in order to lift the pusher 45 from the stack and lowerthe releaser 44 into engagement with the top slip sheet of the stack asthe crank shaft 43 is rotated, a

transversely extending rod 46 is secured to the side walls Illa in frontof the crank shaft 43,

e which is adapted to engage the bar 4| and lift the pusher 45 as thecrank 42 moves toward the rear of the machine frame. Crank shaft 43 isprovided at one end with a sprocket 41 having a sprocket chain 48extending therearound which connnects the sprocket 4'! with a sprocket49 se cured to the driven shaft 34.

From this construction, it is apparent that during a portion of eachrevolution of the crank shaft 43, the bar 4| is moved toward the back ofthe machine and as it moves rearwardly the i6 which pusher 45 is raisedfrom engagement with the top slip sheet of the stack l3 by the bar 46and this turning movement of the bar 4| lowers .the releaser 44, whichis urged toward the stack by a spring 44a interposed between the bar 4|and the top of the releaser so that it frictionally engages the topsheet of the stack and moves it back against the member 2! which, beingpivoted, permits the end of the sheet to be moved beyond the bar 20,thus freeing it from the clip 23. As the crank shaft 63 continues itscycle of revolution, the crank 42 is moved forward and on such forwardmovement the bar 4| is raised from engagement with the rod 46, thuslowering the pusher 45 into engagement with the released slip sheet andthe continued forward movement of the crank 42 moves the released sheetbetween a continuously driven, transversely extending feed roll 5| and apair of rollers 52, which frictionally engage the roll 5|.

Feed roll 5| is journaled in the side walls |0a and is provided on oneend with a pulley 53 connected by a belt 54 with a pulley 55 secured tothe driven shaft 34, while rollers 52 are mounted on a shaft 58 havingits ends journaled in the side walls of the frame H] and the rollers 52are held in frictional engagement with the driven rollers 5| by means oftension springs 5'! attached to the shaft 56 and which tend to pull theshaft toward the roll 5|.

The slip sheets passing between the rolls 5 |-52 are delivered onto thelegs 60 of turnable angle brackets 5| on which the printed sheets aredeposited (Fig. 9), and I prefer to have the feeding mechanism sosynchronized with the printing or duplicating machine that the slipsheet is deposited on the legs 80 of the angle members 6| slightlybefore the printed sheet is delivered from the press or the duplicator.

One angle bracket 6| is pivoted to each of the side walls Illa of theframe adjacent the top thereof and in position to receive the slipsheets from the feed rolls 5|52 and the slip sheet receiving leg 6|) ofeach bracket is of such a length, relative to the other leg, that thebracket has a tendency to turn by gravity about its pivot so that thelegs 60 will extend downwardly. Legs 68 of the brackets 6| are held in aposition to receive the slip sheets by means of chains 62 attached tothe opposite legs of the brackets 6| and which extend downwardlyadjacent the front end of the frame In and pass around suitable rollers53 and areattached near the center of the machine to a chain 64 whichhas its opposite end attached to a bar 65 which is urged upwardly tohold the chainstaut and, consequently, hold the legs iii) in ahorizontal position by a spring 65 which is attached to the bar 65 andto one of the members Nib of the machine.

In order that the slip sheets deposited on the legs Ell of the brackets4| will be delivered to the table |8 in timed relation with theoperation of the releaser and the pusher 45, the crank shaft 43 isprovided with a crank 6'! which is adapted to periodically engage anddepress the bar 65 against the tension of the spring 66 which slackensthe chains 54- -62 and permits the brackets 6| to turn by gravity anddrop the slip sheets and the printed sheets carried thereby in asubstantially vertical path onto the table l8. In order that thedelivery of the slip sheets and the printed sheets to the table |8 willbe positive, a clip 6|a is secured to each of the brackets 6| whichextend over the legs 60 and knock such sheets onto the table when thebrackets are turned to discharging position. After all of the slipsheets on thetable l2 have been fed between the rolls 5| and 52 anddeposited on the table 18, the table I2 is then in its uppermostposition and the table. I8 is in its lowermost position, and in orderthat the tables l2 and is may be readily returned to their initialposition with the table l2 in position to receive another stack of slipsheets, the hub of the sprocket 28 on the shaft 28a is provided with aseries of'spaced openings 10 to receive the outwardly projecting spacedteeth H on the pinion 21 which-meshes Withthe gear 28 (Figs. 4-8). Inorder that the teeth H on the pinion 21 may be readily withdrawn fromthe opening 10 on the sprocket 28 to permit the gear 26 and'sprocket 16to be freely turned, the shaft 28a extends a substantial distance beyondthe side wall Illa on the opposite side of the machine from the gear 28and bears against a cam plate 12 pivoted at 13 to the side wall I (la.and connected at its outer end by link 14 to a foot lever 15 which isnormally held in its raised position by a spring 16 having one endattached to the front end of the 'cam plate 12 and which also holds the,cam surface thereof away from the shaft 28a. When the foot lever 15 isdepressed the cam lever 12 is turned about its pivot 13 and moves theshaft 28a tothe left, as shown in Fig. 4, and disengages the teeth Hfrom the openings 10 in the hub of the sprocket 28. In order to preventthe pinions 21 from traveling with the shaft 28a, a bracket I1 attachedto the side wall Illa. and having an opening for receiving the shaft 28ais positioned between the sprocket 28 and the pinion 21.

When the sprocket 28 is disengaged from the pinion 2?,the table l2 maybe readily lowered in position to receive another stack of slip sheets,after which the shaft 28a is pushed back to reengage the teeth H withthe openings 10 in the sprocket 28. I

In order that the table [8 will accommodate the thickness of the printedsheets between which the slip sheets are interposed, springs 80.

are provided between the ends of the chains I4 and the table l8 whichpreferably have atension such that the weight of the printed sheets willbrackets 6 I When odd lot printing'or duplication is being done and afewer number of printed sheets are desired than the number of slipsheets stacked on the table I2, I provide a member 90 which is adaptedto be clamped to the chains l4 above the table I8 to separate one joblot from another.

The member 90 is of openwork construction and g has guides 9| alongopposite sides which are adapted to engage the table guides llld of thetable [8 and clamps 92 on thesides between said guides which permit themember 90 to be readily clamped to the table supporting chains 14.

From the foregoing description of my invention, it is apparent that Ihave provided a slip sheet feeder having an extremely large capacity andin which the slip sheets aresuccessively released and fed singly into'aposition to receive a printed sheet thereon after which the slip sheetand the printed sheet 1 carried thereby are dropped in a substantiallyvertical path onto the table l8, thus smearing of the ink on the printedsheet is eliminated.

It is further apparent that my feeder is extremely -flexible since itpermits jobflot printing or duplicating without removingthe priorl lotfrom the receiving table and, since the feed table may be readilyloweredin position to receive another stack of slip sheets, little timeis lost between the time the last sheet is fed between the printedsheets and the placing of a new stack of slip sheetson the saidtable.

While I have described one embodiment of my invention, it is .to beunderstood that certain changes, modifications, additions, omissions andsubtractions may be made therein without'dee parting from the spirit ofmy invention or the scope of the appended claims. Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim as new-and desire to secure by'Letters Patentis:

1. Apparatus of the character described 'co'm feed rolls adjacent thetop of the stack of sheets on said feed table, means for periodicallyengaging and feeding between said feed rolls the top sheet of saidstack, means for supporting each sheet delivered from said feed rolls,means opermeans for pushing sheets in succession from the stack ofsheets on said feed table, driven feed 'rolls for engaging anddelivering the sheets pushed from said stack, means for supporting eachsheet delivered from said feed rolls, means operating in timed relationto said sheet pushing means for releasing said supporting means todeposit each said sheet onto said receiving table, and means forelevating said feed table and prising a feed table adapted to support astack I of slip sheets thereon, a receiving table, driven lowering saidreceiving table, said last-mentioned means being synchronized with thesheet push ing means and with said releasing means.

3. A slip sheet feeder comprising a feed table adapted to support astack .of slip sheets thereon,

means for feeding slip sheets in succession from the stack of sheets onsaid feed table, a pair of spaced pivoted members adapted to receive thesheets fed from said stack, a receiving table beneath said members,means for holding said members in position to support the receivedsheets, and means for periodically releasing said holding means topermit said members to turn about their pivots and discharge the sheetsposi tioned thereon onto said'receiving table.

4. A slip sheet feeder comprising a frame, a feed table mounted forreciprocal movement within said frame and being adapted to support astack of slip sheets thereon, a pair of continuously driven feed rollsin said frame, means for periodically engaging the top slip sheet of thestack of sheets on said feed table and delivering the same between saidfeed rolls, a pair of spaced angle brackets pivoted on said frame forreceiving the sheets from said feed rolls, means for releasably holdingsaid brackets in position to receive such slip sheets, means forperiodically releasing said bracket holding means to discharge the sheetthereon, a table mounted for reciprocal movement within said framebeneath said angle brackets on which the discharge sheets are stacked,and means for simultaneously elevating said feed table and lowering saidstacking table.

5. Apparatus of the character described comprising a feed table forsupporting a stack of slip sheets, a receiving table, driven feed rollsadjacent the top of the stack of sheets on said feed table, means forperiodically engaging and feeding between said feed rolls the top sheetof the stack, means forreceiving andv supporting each sheet delivered bysaid feed rolls,xmeans operating in timed relation to said feedingvmeans for periodically releasing said sheets whereby the same aredeposited on said receiving table, and means for elevating said feedtableand lowering said receiving table.

6. Apparatus of the character described comslip sheets, a slip sheetreceiving table, means for pushing sheets in succession from the stackof sheets on said feed table, driven feed rolls for engaging anddelivering the sheets pushed from said stack, means for supporting eachsheet delivered from said feed rolls, means operating in timed relationto said sheet pushing means for releasing sheets from said supportingmeans whereby the same are deposited on said receiving table, and meansfor elevating said feed table and lowering said receiving table, saidlast-mentioned means being synchronized with the sheet pushing means andwith said releasing means.

RICHARD S. HARM.

